1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical system controlling apparatus and a surgical system controlling method, and more particularly to a surgical system controlling apparatus including a characteristic voice processing unit for operating medical instruments with voice and a method for controlling the surgical system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an endoscopic surgical operation and the like using an endoscope apparatus are performed at a medical site. In the endoscopic surgical operation, it is possible to perform various kinds of treatments, while observing with an endoscope by adding a plurality of surgical instruments to the endoscope apparatus. The plurality of surgical instruments are, for example, a gas insufflator used for inflating inside of an abdominal cavity, a treatment apparatus for therapeutic procedure, and a high-frequency cauterizing apparatus for resecting or coagulating a living tissue.
Furthermore, an endoscopic surgical system provided with the plurality of various kinds of instruments, which is used for performing an endoscopic surgical operation, is capable of operating and controlling a plurality of apparatuses.
The endoscopic surgical system includes, for the purpose of improving an operatability of the system, a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel, as a display section for an operator to confirm setting states of various instruments in a sterilized area, a remote operation apparatus such as a remote controller, as a remote operation section operated by the operator in the sterilized area to change functions and setting values of the various instruments, and in addition, a centralized operation panel provided on a touch panel with operation switches of the respective instruments, which is operated in a non-sterilized area by an assistant such as a nurse or the like according to instruction by the operator to change functions and setting values of the various kinds of instruments, a microphone for operating the various kinds of instruments with voice, and the like.
In the conventional endoscopic surgical system, when operating various kinds of instruments with voice, the operator is required to hierarchically and intentionally issue commands for operating the instruments. Consequently, the system is not user-friendly in performing a therapeutic procedure.
Therefore, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-5777 discloses an endoscopic surgical system capable of controlling a target instrument only by voice-inputting a state of the instrument using conversational phrases.